Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Designation of Systemically Important Nonbank Financial Companies Under Dodd-Frank

Editor’s Note: H. Rodgin Cohen is a partner and senior chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP focusing on acquisition, corporate governance, regulatory and securities law matters. This post is based on a Sullivan & Cromwell LLP publication; the full version, including footnotes, is available here. On October 11, 2011, the Financial Stability Oversight Council unanimously […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Financial Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Designation of Systemically Important Nonbank Financial Companies Under Dodd-Frank

Leadership in the Fund Industry

What is the critical factor for success in the U.S. mutual fund industry? Is it top-ranked investment performance, innovative products, or pervasive distribution? In our view, it is none of these factors, despite their obvious importance. Instead, the best predictors of success in the U.S. fund business are the focus and organization of the fund […]

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Registration of Security-Based Swap Dealers and Major Participants

Editor’s Note: Annette Nazareth is a partner in the Financial Institutions Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. This post is based on a Davis Polk client memorandum. On October 12, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) proposed, by a 3-1 vote, rules under the Dodd-Frank Act to provide for […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Derivatives, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

ISS Seeks Comment on Draft Proxy Voting Policies

Editor’s Note: The following post comes to us from Bimal Patel, Manager for Global Governance Policy at the ISS Governance Institute. As a critical component of ISS’ annual policy formulation process, ISS is seeking comment from institutional investors, corporate issuers, and other governance market participants on its proxy voting policy updates while they are still […]

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Posted in Corporate Elections & Voting, Executive Compensation, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ISS Seeks Comment on Draft Proxy Voting Policies

Clearinghouse Over-Confidence

Editor’s Note: Mark Roe is the David Berg Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches bankruptcy and corporate law. This post is Professor Roe’s most recent op-ed in his regular column series titled “The Rules of the Game” written for the international association of newspapers Project Syndicate, which can be found here. […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Bankruptcy & Financial Distress, Derivatives, Financial Crisis, HLS Research, Op-Eds & Opinions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Deviation from the Target Capital Structure and Acquisition Choices

In the paper, Deviation from the Target Capital Structure and Acquisition Choices, forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Economics, I explore the effects of a firm’s leverage deficit on its acquisition choices. In particular, I examine the extent to which a firm’s leverage deficit affects the likelihood of the firm making an acquisition as well […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Banking & Financial Institutions, Empirical Research, Mergers & Acquisitions | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Deviation from the Target Capital Structure and Acquisition Choices

Proxy Access: Only The Beginning

Editor’s Note: Francis H. Byrd is Senior Vice President, Corporate Governance & Risk Practice Leader at Laurel Hill Advisory Group. This post is based on a Laurel Hill newsletter. Related work on proxy access by the Program on Corporate Governance includes Private Ordering and the Proxy Access Debate by Bebchuk and Hirst, and the proceedings […]

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Posted in Corporate Elections & Voting, Financial Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Living Wills: FDIC Approves Final Rules

Editor’s Note: The following post comes to us from Dwight C. Smith, partner focusing on bank regulatory matters at Morrison & Foerster LLP, and is based on a Morrison & Foerster Client Alert by Mr. Smith, Alexandra Steinberg Barrage, and Jeremy Mandell. Recently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) Board unanimously approved two rules regarding […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Bankruptcy & Financial Distress, Financial Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Living Wills: FDIC Approves Final Rules

Poor Corporate Governance and the Diversification Discount

Two important sources of company value are governance and diversification. In our paper, How Much of the Diversification Discount Can Be Explained by Poor Corporate Governance? forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Economics, we investigate links between these two attributes. We seek to determine whether the negative association between firm value and diversification, established in […]

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Inside Information and Risks for Claims Traders

Editor’s Note: The following post comes to us from Douglas P. Bartner, partner in the Bankruptcy & Reorganization Group at Shearman & Sterling LLP, and is based on a Shearman & Sterling client publication. Distressed investors often find themselves confronting the dilemma over how to best exert the influence they have at critical times in […]

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